Data director: all North Syracuse schools in good standing under new state accountability rules

Donna Marie Norton, the district’s Executive Director of Data and Accountability, told the board that the district’s 2025 accountability results — based on 2024–25 testing — show all North Syracuse schools in local support (what Norton described as "good standing").

"I am happy to tell you that we have no schools in any of those categories," Norton said, referring to targeted and comprehensive school improvement lists. She explained the accountability components used by State Education: graduation rates, ELP measures for multilingual learners, attendance, performance (core and weighted scores) and growth, and noted that some rules returned after COVID such as the CCCR (college, career and civic readiness) and growth calculations.

Norton presented school‑by‑school highlights: Lakeshore, Bear Road and Roxel showed notable improvements in core, weighted or growth categories; Roxel in particular moved off a targeted improvement list after strong growth. She described targeted interventions at Roxel, including short, frequent formative assessments and data‑driven small‑group instruction, that staff review biweekly to reorganize instruction by skill area.

The presentation emphasized that growth matters for long‑term improvement and commended staff for focused intervention work. Norton also explained testing participation expectations (State Ed requires at least 95% participation) and how core and weighted measures treat tested students and participation differently.

Board members praised the district’s growth scores and thanked Norton for districtwide engagement and data‑driven leadership. Norton said she plans to continue supporting schools through regular progress reports and targeted support where needed.

The accountability presentation was informational; no formal action or external sanctions were reported.